Isaiah Thomas

He's actually 5-9 and 185 pounds Detroit forward Charlie Villanueva , responding to Sacramento guard Isaiah Thomas' calling him a "dirty player" after Villanueva was fined $25,000 for a flagrant 2 foul on Thomas: "Dirty player? Not at all. He saw an open lane, I tried to block the ball and he's 4 foot 11, 100 pounds wet, so he looks bad. I'm not a dirty player. . . . I know a lot of people that would testify to that. " Yes, he was joking Brooklyn interim Coach P.J. Carlesimo , giving a tongue-in-cheek response when asked if would give the Nets permission to speak with Jeff Van Gundy about the permanent job: "No. I told [owner]

The short-handed Lakers fought to the end, but ultimately fell to the Sacramento Kings, 107-102, for their 50th loss of the season. A Wesley Johnson tip-in with a minute left cut the Lakers' double-digit deficit to three points, 105-102. The Lakers got a vital stop, but Kent Bazemore missed an driving layup that stalled the Lakers' comeback. Now with a record of 25-50, the Laker's loss was an important one in the NBA draft lottery standings, as the seventh-worst Kings improved to 27-48, two wins ahead of the Lakers, who have seven left to play.

Justin Dentmon scored a career-high 30 points and freshman Isaiah Thomas had 25 as No. 23 Washington handed No. 14 Arizona State its second consecutive home defeat, 84-71, on Saturday at Tempe, Ariz. Washington (16-5, 7-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference) led by 19 points twice in the second half before Arizona State got to within 74-68 when Derek Glasser made three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:58 left.

Led by the starring foursome of Isaiah Thomas, Justin Dentmon, Quincy Pondexter and Jon Brockman, Washington ran over Oregon, 103-84, Saturday afternoon at Seattle and took a 1 1/2 -game lead in the Pacific 10 Conference standings. The foursome each topped the 20-point mark, led by Thomas' 24 points. Dentmon finished with 21 points, same as Brockman, who also tied his career high with 18 rebounds. Pondexter had 20 points, the third time he has scored 20 or more in Washington's last four games.

Jon Brockman raised his arms, and on cue 10,000 followers obediently rose to their feet in full voice. After four years of blue-collar service to Washington, Brockman was rewarded Saturday with an accomplishment nearly a quarter century in the making -- ownership of a Pacific 10 Conference regular-season title.

Arizona (19-12) vs. No. 23 Arizona State (22-8), noon, FS West -- A victory might give Arizona its 25th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, the longest such streak in the nation. The Wildcats, the fifth-seeded team, have had their way with Arizona State this season, winning both games. Arizona has lost four of its last five overall. Arizona State, the fourth-seeded team, was zeroing in on a conference championship, then lost in overtime to Washington and Washington State. Sophomore guard James Harden, the conference player of the year, is a lock first-round NBA pick if, as expected, he enters the draft.

Washington has not yet secured a berth in the NCAA tournament. But the Huskies improved their chances considerably Friday night by defeating Stanford, 79-64, in a semifinal of the Pacific Life Pac-10 tournament at Staples Center. Washington will play top-seeded Cal Saturday in the title game, the winner gaining an automatic berth in an NCAA regional. Regardless of the outcome, Washington positioned itself for a possible at-large berth by dispatching the Cardinal and improving its record to 23-9.

West Regional Butler (30-4) vs. Syracuse (30-4): Center Arinze Onuaku will miss this game because of a quadriceps injury, but the Orange has been doing just fine without him. A key figure is 70 points. Syracuse scored fewer than 70 three times this season, losing two of those games. Butler gave up more than 70 three times and lost them all. Even without Onuaku, Syracuse is much bigger and more physical than Butler, which will try to slow the pace. Xavier (26-8) vs. Kansas State (28-7)